University of Abuja’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, says the institution has gone tough on lecturers who are sexually harassing students, adding that two professors had been dismissed for the offence.
Na’Allah told the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in New York that the university had introduced a policy on sex abuse on campus, which had been published.
The VC. who was on a two-day visit to US to meet with the University of Abuja Alumni Association, USA chapter, to solicit support for the institution, said, “Female students needed to be protected.”
According to him, the institution is committed to high moral standards and will not tolerate any act of misconduct perpetrated by its staff members against students.
He said, “I have dismissed two professors since I became the vice-chancellor. It tells you how we are serious about the issue of sexual harassment.
“We are collaborating with some non-governmental organisations, to make sure that it is not only us that are addressing this issue, but we have a strong partnership. We cannot allow the lives of our students to be destroyed because most of the abuses destroy the lives of their victims.”
The vice-chancellor added, “It was sad to see some lecturers, who are supposed to be protecting the female students, becoming one of their problems.”